Blackberry maker Research In Motion has announced the winners of the BlackBerry EMEA Innovation Awards 2011. Now in their fourth year, the awards are the highlight of the annual BlackBerry EMEA Alliance Summit, recognising and rewarding organisations from within the BlackBerry Alliance Programme in Europe, the Middle East and Africa that have delivered compelling, value-added applications and services to customers using the BlackBerry platform.

Each of the seven category winners has demonstrated excellence by creating innovative applications that provide tangible benefits to public or private sector organisations, SMEs or consumers. This year sees the introduction of a new category specifically to recognise solutions for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.
Winners were selected by an independent panel of eleven judges comprising of industry experts, journalists and customers.
For the first time this year, a People’s Choice award features amongst the categories. Voted for by fans and followers via the BlackBerry Facebook and Twitter channels across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the People’s Choice award recognises the most popular free app available on BlackBerry App World.
Category winners:
* Driving Innovation in Enterprise and the Public Sector: TechMobile Srl
* Accelerating innovation for entrepreneurs – Starting & Growing a Small Business: QUALTEH JR
* Optimising the BlackBerry Experience: SystAG Systemhaus GmbH
* Entertainment on BlackBerry: DevelopIQ Limited
* Going Social – Best BBM Connected App: Wikitude
* Most Innovative PlayBook Tablet Solution: HDS Digital SAS
* People’s Choice Award: Vanatur World Mobile Solutions
“In developing the tools that help our customers drive more value out of their investment in BlackBerry devices and services, our partners play a vital role in the continuing development of the BlackBerry ecosystem,” said Alec Saunders, VP Developer Relations at RIM.
Staff writer